Consumers for fair financial services

Consumers for Fair Financial Services, is the global
campaign to increase consumers' access to safe, fair and
competitive financial markets.

Financial services are increasingly important to consumers
everywhere, but access to financial services is not enough, they
also need to be safe and fair.

Too often consumers are sold financial products that are not
appropriate to their needs, or financial products that have unfair
contracts or fees.

This can lead to real personal hardship and, as was shown in the
financial crisis in 2007, when misselling is on a large scale it
can contribute to economic crises as well.

These problems are not confined to one country or region.

Scandals

In recent years established financial markets have been rocked
by a number of banking scandals including subprime mortgages in the
US, payment protection insurance in the UK and preference shares in
Spain.

At the same time in emerging and low income countries, millions
of consumers are joining the market for financial services every
year, often with low levels of financial literacy or in the context
of very weak consumer protection.

That is why CI and its members have called for all financial
services to be effectively regulated and for consumers to have
access to complaint systems and redress when something goes wrong.
The campaign is built on CI's members'
extensive experience and expertise on these issues.

In 2010 CI and its members successfully campaigned the G20 to
make new international recommendations for improving financial
consumer protection. Since then CI has been ensuring the consumer
voice is heard in the
G20 agenda on financial consumer protection by:

Supporting the development of the Financial Stability Board
report on consumer credit which has led to the international
network for financial consumer protection taking on a more formal
role and developing a new work plan.

CI continues to take part in these international processes as
well as supporting members work at the national level and
developing international work on specific issues effecting
consumers of financial services.